Nearly 10 years ago, I stood in the middle of the Atlanta airport on a layover en route to Chicago for Casual Market, straining to hear a call on my cell phone over the hubbub around me.
“We have the results of your biopsy,” the caller said in an even tone I imagined they practiced many times over the years. “The tissue was malignant — you have breast cancer.”
In that moment, it felt as though the floor collapsed beneath me. I was 36 years old, the mother of a toddler, on my way to one of my favorite trade shows. I was in the prime of my life — how could I have cancer?
I would soon learn the staggering statistics of breast cancer. According to BreastCancer.org, 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer at some point in their lives. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the U.S., accounting for 32% of new disease diagnoses. Around 16% of women with breast cancer are younger than 50 years of age, and perhaps most sobering, around 42,170 women will die from breast cancer in 2025. And this isn’t just a women’s disease — men also can develop breast cancer.
As I began navigating cancer treatment over the following months, I felt pretty alone — no one my age knew the fear and pain I faced. But then a funny thing happened as word of my diagnosis slowly spread among my colleagues, not only at Casual Living magazine, but also in the greater furnishings industry. Women I’d known for years began reaching out to me, telling me their own stories of survival with this wretched disease.
Their kindness and support — be it through words of encouragement shared in the hallway at work, via an email or text, or during a market lunch — helped me make it through one of the most difficult periods of my life.
This spirit of support fuels the work of The Common Thread for the Cure, a nonprofit foundation that offers financial assistance to members of the design and furnishings industry battling breast cancer. The organization was founded in 2000 by Suzann Burkhead-Bray and Scott Burkhead in memory of their sister, Sandra Burkhead Campbell, who lost her long-term battle with breast cancer in February 1999. In the years since, The Common Thread for the Cure has awarded more than $1,500,000 in grants to deserving recipients in 40 states, Canada and Mexico.
This week during High Point Market, we have the opportunity to support The Common Thread for the Cure and the important work it does for our colleagues in the design and furnishings industry. In honor of its 25th anniversary, the foundation is holding its Harvesting Hope Silent Auction. Open now for online bidding, the auction features more than 40 prizes — ranging from furnishings and decor to gift cards and experiences such as a private guided design tour with HPxD.
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we can sometimes feel inundated with solicitations for donations, but unlike some organizations, The Common Thread for the Cure puts every dollar it raises toward grants for members of the furnishings industry struggling with the monumental financial burden of cancer treatment.
The Harvesting Hope Silent Auction will be open for bids online through Oct. 29 at 11:59 p.m. EST. If you’re looking for a way to support breast cancer patients and survivors this month, or if you simply want to help industry colleagues going through a hard time, I encourage you to bid and support the life-changing work of this amazing organization.
